Here are the latest rugby headlines on Saturday, July 1.
Wales star and Gatland's go-to man announced by French giants
French giants Racing 92 have officially announced the signings of Warren Gatland's former Wales and Lions fitness guru Paul Stridgeon and Welsh second-row Will Rowlands.
The move for 31-year-old lock Rowlands, who joins from the Dragons, has been reported for some time.
Stridgeon, meanwhile, left his WRU role as head of physical performance after eight years following the 2023 Six Nations to spend more time with his family, according to Gatland. He had been linked with joining Racing at the end of the year, but now links up with the club earlier than initially expected.
His long-term WRU deputy Huw Bennett has since stepped in and has been in charge of ramping up players' fitness ahead of the World Cup in two months.
Racing 92's statement also confirmed the signings of, among others, English full-back Henry Arundell and South African World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi.
A club statement read: “Racing 92 are pleased to announce the signing of nine players and new members of the sports staff for next season. They will contribute to enriching the squad of the professional team under the chairmanship of Laurent Travers, who will take over as chairman of the management board from July 1.
“Racing will return to the Top 14 fields from August 19 and the Champions Cup from December 8. The players joining for the 2023/2024 season are: Henry Arundell (full-back) until 2024; James Hall (scrum-half) until 2025; Siya Kolisi (back row) until 2026; Thomas Laclayat (prop) until 2027; Clovis Le Bail (scrum-half) until 2026; Wame Naituvi (winger) until 2026; Will Rowlands (lock) until 2026; Tristan Tedder (out-half) until 2025; Josua Tuisova (winger) until 2026.
"Back row Jordan Joseph, after a successful loan to Pau, will also return to the Racing squad.
“Under the direction of the new director of rugby Stuart Lancaster, the sports and technical staff has recorded the arrivals of Frederic Michalak (backline coach), Paul Stridgeon (head of physical preparation) and Tom Whiteford (team manager). They complete the sports staff alongside Dimitri Szarzewski (forwards coach) and Joe Rokocoko (skills coach)."
Cardiff Rugby record loss of £2.2million
Cardiff Rugby recorded a loss of £2.2million for the year ending June 30, 2022, which marks an increase from £1.6m the previous year.
In accounts filed with Companies House, club chairman Alun Jones said "focus must now shift to the future".
In May, Cardiff chief executive Richard Holland said the club had "cashflow pressures" but they have now received the first instalment of the Welsh Rugby Union's new financial agreement.
"In the last statement... I predicted that we were 'not yet out of the woods'. That prediction proved true," said Jones. "The ongoing challenges faced by Welsh rugby in its entirety, by the professional game and by us as a professional club and business are well documented.
"We have worked hard with our colleagues at the WRU and other regions to reach a funding framework for the professional game for the next six years. We remain eternally grateful for this support, without which our professional game would face dire consequences."
Cardiff's £2.2m loss is an increase to the £1.6m loss in 2020-21, £317,000 in 2019-20 and £405,000 in 2018-19. Accounts show that turnover rose from £5.4m in 2020-21 to £13.2m in the latest report.,
The latest accounts cover December 2021, when Cardiff travelled to South Africa for United Rugby Championship fixtures only to be caught in quarantine regulations amid the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid. As a result, the UK Government enforced travel restrictions on inbound travel from South Africa, and 48 Cardiff Rugby employees were stuck in the country on quarantine.
A new six-year deal between the WRU and the teams was signed in March, which will see salary caps brought in with playing budgets reduced to £5.2m for next season and then £4.5m for 2024-25 in a bid to increase financial sustainability.
Jones added: "While the framework underpins our professional game, we must not relax but rather re-double our efforts to keep making improvements collectively off the field, in order to promote continued improvements on the field."
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Wales fly-half to face competition from England opponent
Bristol Bears Women have announced the signing of Red Roses fly-half Holly Aitchison from fellow Premiership Women's Rugby club Saracens, meaning Wales fly-half and Bears servant Elinor Snowsill will face stiff competition for the starting No. 10 jersey next term.
Aitchison, 25, has 18 international caps and helped the Red Roses to a Six Nations Grand Slam this year, starting all five games. The club have not disclosed the length of Aitchison's deal at Ashton Gate. Sarries confirmed that a termination of her contract had been mutually agreed.
Bristol head coach Dave Ward said: "Holly was the Red Roses' standout player in the recent Grand Slam winning team and has delivered excellence throughout the season. Her skillset is amongst some of the best in the world and we can’t wait to see her in a Bears jersey. Her passion and knowledge for the game is obvious from the moment you meet her and we are extremely excited for her to lead our attack as we look to challenge for silverware next season.”
Aitchison said: “I'm really excited to be joining Bristol Bears and can't wait to get started. I'm hugely grateful to Saracens for the last few seasons, but I'm looking forward to starting the next chapter of my career at the Bears. It's an ambitious club, with world-class facilities that play an exciting and attacking brand of rugby, so I cannot wait to get started in the West Country!”
Wales' first-choice No. 10 Snowsill, one of 25 players on full-time WRU contracts this calendar year, was at the centre of Bristol's journey to the Premier 15s semi-final this season, losing out to eventual winners Gloucester-Hartpury.
New biennial tournament to start in 2026
A new biennial international tournament featuring teams from the Six Nations and the southern hemisphere is set to start in 2026.
Six Nations Rugby has announced it is working with SANZAAR, the organisation which includes South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, on a new competition to take place in the existing July and November international windows.
The tournament will feature all the Six Nations and SANZAAR teams, with two further spaces reserved for invitational unions to join the southern hemisphere group. Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR will own and operate the tournament, which will take place in alternating years, between British and Irish Lions tours and the Rugby World Cup.
The new competition will not affect the club calendar and Six Nations Rugby insisted players had been heavily involved in the process, amid growing concerns over burnout and calls for greater focus on rest and recovery periods between domestic and international commitments.
It said in a statement: "Involved at every stage of developing the new competition has been the international rugby players. This connection has been key in supporting the wider conversations around the club and international calendar taking place in parallel, and to ensure player welfare has remained a fundamental priority in all decision making."
Alongside the new tournament, World Rugby is set to also create a second-tier competition made up of teams from Europe and the rest of the world, which will eventually allow for promotion and relegation matches.
Six Nations Rugby said the tournament would provide "a stronger narrative around the July and November windows" that would "genuinely excite players and bring new fans to the game".
